The lake region of western Vermont

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2011 with funding from

LYRASIS members and Sloan Foundation

http://www.archive.org/details/lakeregionofwestOOverm

Red Rocks Drive, Lake Champlain

The Lake Region
of Western Vermont

"One lake lies golden, which shall soon
Be silver in the rising moon;
And one, the crimson of the skies
And mountain purple multiplies."

Whittier.

Issued by the Vermont Bureau of Publicity
Office of the Secretary of State
Morris VI lle, Vt.

Entered According to Act of Congress

In the Year 1918

Frederick G. Fleetwood

Secretary of State for the State of Vermont

In the Office of the Librarian of

Congress at Washington

Foreword

So ardent a lover and so faithful an interpreter of
Nature as Henry W. Thoreau has declared that "a lake
is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature".
Accepting this as a just estimate, then no region in this
or any other country possesses a beauty more alluring,
or expresses the grace of the fashion of Nature's charm
more eloquently than Vermont. For the Green Moun-
tain State has lakes in abundance, great and small, rang-
ing from Champlain, upon whose ample bosom the navies
of the Seven Seas might sail, to the little pools which hide
themselves in the seclusion of the forest, like shy and dainty
wild flowers, concealed from the gaze of those who travel
only the familiar highways. Here, to the ever-changing
beauty of a lake region, is added the strength and the
majesty of the mountains.

This book is designed to be a companion volume
to "The Lakes of Eastern Vermont". While Lake Cham-
plain, in size and historical importance far surpasses all
other bodies of water in the State, the western portion of
Vermont contains other lakes of goodly proportions, "beauti-
ful for situation", and many small lakes and ponds, charm-
ingly located and easy of access.

Nowhere in Vermont can one get away from the lakes
or the mountains. There are in the State approximately
four hundred lakes and ponds large enough to receive names
and to appear on maps; and at least two hundred moun-
tain peaks exceeding two thousand feet in height. The
proximity of lake and mountain and river valley add a
peculiar charm and a pleasant variety to the Vermont
landscape and afford the traveler a frequent recurrence of
most delightful scenic surprises.

The Veroiont Publicity Bureau, a department in the
Secretary of State's office, desires to be of service to all
persons interested in Vermont, and will gladly furnish
information regarding tours, hotels, boarding places, lo-

cations for summer homes, or any available facts that may
be sought by tourists or others interested in Vermont or
its resources and opportunities.

In addition to this book any of the following publi-
cations will be sent free to those who ask for them: "The
Lakes of Eastern Vermont", illustrated; "The Lure of
the Silent Places", an illustrated book describing the
highest Green Mountain peaks; "The Green Mountain
Tour", illustrated, giving an itinerary for automobile
tours through Vermont covering a period of eight days;
"Where to Stop When in Vermont", a directory of hotels
and boarding houses, containing views of Vermont scen-
ery; "Automobile Distances in Vermont"; "Summer Homes
in Vermont — Cottage Sites and Farms for Sale"; a road
map of Vermont, and copies of automobile and fish and
game laws; "Vermont Farms", an illustrated book, setting
forth in detail the agricultural resources and opportuni-
ties of the State.

All inquiries should be addressed to

Frederick G. Fleetwood, Secretary of State,
Publicity Department, A/Iorrisville, Vt.

The Lakes of Western Vermont

For its beauty of situation, Lake Champlain may
be called appropriately the Queen of American Lakes.
For its wealth of historic associations, everj^ year it is becom-
ing more famous as a place of pilgrimage. Geologists
tell us that this body of water lies in one of the most an-
cient valleys in the world. On the west rise the peaks of
the Adirondack range, a superb mountain wall, glorified
by the rays of magnificent sunsets, and on the east tower

Camel's Hump, one of the Highest of the Green
Mountain Peaks

seven

••\

:':-"..f^>': ,

4

H

■ ^1

■ '■•*■ '.^

&■"

^\

L

■■'' ^

. ■• . "1 ■ ■

.'''%: ?. v..

^

- **

K

,^

IL.

' ', ■"' ''^^9^^b''

\ t*

jgsH|

HKi

1

II

1

^^■^ -Lk'^'SiSl^^^^l

3&<!

Bs^\ .', H

Roadside Scene Along Lake Champlain in Grand Isle County

the lofty heights of the Green Mountains. From the
shores of this lake, or from its numerous islands, large
and small — for it contains an island county in its northern
waters — may be seen the grandeur of mountain scenery
in all its beautiful variations. In this splendid picture
gallery of Nature the canvasses are continually shifted.
The sunrise and the sunset effects; the delicate tints of
dawn and the golden afterglow that precedes the twilight
shadows; the delicate verdure of spring on field and forest;
the charms of the summer landscape in sunshine and in

[ eight

storm; the rich hues of autumn with which the hillsides
are aflame, blending softly in the far distance like the
colors of ancient tapestry; and the beauties of winter in
which the mountains appear in certain lights a deep blue
on a shining background of white, "such as no fuller on
earth could whiten" — all these and many more are pic-
tures afforded by Lake Champlain and the lofty hills
which surround it.

So experienced a traveller as William Dean Howells,
dean of American men of letters, while standing with a

Emerald Lake, Dorset

nine

Roaring Brook, near Bennington

[ ten

well-known American publisher overlooking the Bay of
Naples, when asked by the latter if he considered that
the finest view in the world, replied that he did, with one
exception, that exception being the view of Lake Cham-
plain and the Adirondacks as seen from Burlington, Vt.

Edward Everett Hale said of Burlington that "so far
as Nature has anything to offer to the eye, I had certainly
never seen, in the travels of forty years, any position chosen
for a city more likely to impress a traveller as remarkable
and to live in his memory".

A Glimpse of Lake Champlain

eleven

Sandbar Bridge, Connecting Grand Isle County with Vermont

A-Iainland

Henry Ward Beecher, in the opening chapter of "Nor-
wood", speaking of the dehght of a vacation trip through
western Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, said
the trip "reaches a cUmax at St. Albans, on the eastern
shore of Lake Champlain, a place in the midst of greater
variety of scenic beauty than any other that I remember
in America".

Bayard Taylor, the famous author and traveller,
describing the view from Grand View Mountain in Addi-
son, from which it is said that one-third of Vermont, the
Adirondacks and Lake Champlain are visible, declared
that he had seen nothing in Europe that excelled the re-
markable view from this elevation, if, indeed, he had seen
anything that equalled it.

[ twelve

The late Justice David J. Brewer of the United States
Supreme Court, who had a summer home at Thompson's
Point, said: "You may travel the wide world over and
see no picture of such rich and quiet charm as that the
valley of Lake Champlain gives to one standing on the
western slopes of the Green Mountains".

Vermont and Lake Champlain are situated at the cross
roads of the most important tourist routes of America.
They lie between the Adirondacks and the Thousand
Islands on the one hand and the White Mountains and
the Maine coast on the other. To the north are the Cana-
dian woods and the St. Lawrence River resorts, and to the
south the Berkshire Hills and the Massachusetts sea-
shore. The shortest distance between these points takes
the tourist over the Green Mountains and along the shores

Grand Isle — North Hero Bridge

thirteen

A Vermont Pasture Scene

of Lake Champlain. No region In the United States is
more accessible and hone equals it in beauty and variety
of natural scenery.

Probably there are no bodies of water in the Western
Hemisphere around which center so many events of his-
torical interest as may be related concerning Lake Cham-
plain and its tributary Lake George. For unnumbered
centuries before the white man came. Lake Champlain
was the great natural highway, in peace and in war, for
the tribes that inhabited northeastern America. The

[fourteen

Iroquois called it Caniaderi Guarunte, the Lake that is
the Gate of the Country. The lake and that portion of
the present State of Vermont west of the Green Moun-
tains formed a valuable fishing and hunting region, and
for its control, and the mastery of this great waterway, in
very truth The Gate of the Country, powerful Indian
tribes contended long before history was written.

In 1609, eleven years before the Pilgrims landed at
Plymouth, Samuel Champlain, mariner, explorer, governor,
one of the noblest of the men whom France sent out to
the New World, discovered the lake to which he gave his
name. In order to gratify his desire for exploration he

Along an Inland Lake

fifteen

I. Isle LaMotte Shore of Lake Champlain 2. Here Roosevelt
Received News of McKinley's Death 3. Site of Fort St. Anne

sixteen

joined an Algonquin war party and his victory over the
Iroquois at TIconderoga was purchased at the price of the
enmity of that powerful Indian nation, an event that was
an Important factor In the conquest- of the continent. For
more than a century the lake was a highway, both for
missionaries of the Cross and for raiding parties striking
at English and French settlements. For many a band of
captives from the Massachusetts settlements, the route
up the Connecticut and the White Rivers, over the Green
Mountains, down the WInooskI River and northward

Lamoille River Road, near Morrisville

seventeen

Drive Along Malletts' Bay

along Lake Champlain and its outlet, the Richelieu River
into Canada, was literally "a way of sorrow". In 1666
Fort St. Anne was built by the French on Isle La Motte,
the first white settlement within the limits of the present
State of Vermont. In 173 1 the French established a
settlement at Windmill Point in Alburg and the same year
built Fort St. Frederic at what is now known as Crown
Point, the latter settlement including Chimney Point, on
the Vermont shore. Fort Carillon at Ticonderoga was
constructed a few years later by the French. Ihese for-
tifications were part of a system of defense by which
France hoped to control the continent of America, and
for which Great Britain contended in a series of cam-
paigns. At Ticonderoga, Montcalm won a brilliant but

[ eighteen

short-lived victory over his EngHsh rival, Abercrombie.
In this valley Stark and Putnam and other patriot leaders
learned the art of war. The French power waned and
the British secured control of the lake and of Canada. At
Crown Point Lort Amherst built a massive stone fortress
costing two million pounds sterling, and constructed a
highway over the Green Mountains to the Connecticut
River. Settlers flocked into the valley and when the
Revolutionary war opened there were many homes in the
vicinity of the southern portion of Lake Champlain. On
May lo, 1775, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
captured the famous fortress of Ticonderoga "in the name
of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress",
the first aggressive act of the war. It was by way of Lake
Champlain that General Montgomery led his army for

Lake Champlain Headlands

nineteen

Surf at Oak Ledge, Lake Champlain

the invasion of Canada in 1775, and by the same route
the next year that the scattered fragments of the army re-
turned, decimated by disease. It was on Lake Champlain
that Benedict Arnold fought the first naval battle of the
Revolution, and although defeated, the delay which re-
sulted aided powerfully in winning the first notable vic-
tory for the American cause. At Ticonderoga and At.
Independence, on the Vermont shore. Gates established
a strong military post, which Burgoyne captured in 1777,
when St. Clair led the retreating Americans through the
woods, pursued by Hessian grenadiers.

It was on the waters of this lake that the decisive
battle of Plattsburg was fought in 1814. Of Macdonough,
commander of the victorious American squadron, Theo-

[ twenty

A Drive along St. Albans Bay, Lake Champlain

twenty-one

Rock Point, near Burlington

dore Roosevelt has said, that "down to the time of the Civil
War he is the greatest figure in our naval history".

Across the waters of Lake Champlain was borne John
Brown's body to its final resting place in the Adirondack
foothills.

Here, in 1909, was celebrated the Tercentenary of the
discovery of the lake in a series of celebrations attended by
President Taft, the Governors of the States, famous am-
bassadors and diplomats and distinguised military officers
and men of letters.

twenty-two

Champlain is the largest navigable fresh water lake in
the United States, exclusive of the Great Lakes. Only
four lakes in Europe are larger, Ladoga and Onega in Russia
and Vaner and Vetter in Sweden. Lakes Constance and
Geneva are about half as large, and the Italian and English
lakes are much smaller. Lake Champlain is ii8 miles
long, measuring from the southern end at Whitehall, N. Y.,
to the northern extremity of Missisquoi Bay in Canada.
Its greatest width is 12^ miles, just north of Burlington.
Its water surface area is 435 .6 square miles, of which area
Canada contains 16.5 square miles. Its greatest depth
is 399 feet, off Essex, N. Y. The average elevation above
sea level is about 95 feet. The deepest channel of the lake
is the boundary between Vermont and New York, a little
more than half the area being in Vermont. The lake
extends somewhat more than one-half, and less than

Lake Lamoille, Morrisville

twenty-three

A North Hero Scene, Green Mountains in the Distance

two-thirds, the length of the State, along the western
border.

The drainage area of Lake Champlain is 7,463 square
miles. This includes all that part of the State west of the
Green Mountains, with the exception of the central and
southern portions of Bennington county. Two of the
principal tributaries of the lake, the Lamoille and Winooski
rivers, break through the Green Mountains and drain
considerable areas in the northeastern part of the State,
east of the mountain range. In Caledonia county a branch
of the Winooski extends to a point within a few miles of
the Connecticut River.

In the northern portion of the lake is an island county,
consisting of the township of Isle La Motte, an island; the

twenty-four

township of North Hero, an Island; the Island of Grand
Isle, divided Into two townships, Grand Isle and South
Hero; and the township of Alburg, a peninsula extending
south from the Canadian mainland. There are many
other Islands In the lake, large and small. The shores as
a rule, are low on the Vermont side of the lake but a por-
tion of the New York shore Is high and rocky. There are
many fine bathing beaches and much of the shore line Is
fringed with trees, making a pleasant shade. In many
places the highway follows the shore, or Is In sight of the

Silver Lake, Leicester

twenty-jive

lake, affording delightful views of lake and mountain
scenery.

For more than one hundred years steamboats have
carried passengers on Lake Champlain. Indeed the world's
second successful steamboat, named the Vermont, was
built at Burlington in 1 808 and was launched on Lake
Champlain only a year after Fulton's Clermont began trips
on the Hudson River. In 1842 Charles Dickens travelled
through the region, and his "American Notes", which
criticised America so severely, commended the steamboats
of Lake Champlain in the highest terms. The reputation

The Gulf, Thompson's Point, Lake Champlain

twenty-six

A Roadway Through the Birches

twenty-seven

^IjL:*'*-

•.."."•v-TTTS

'iSL-'' ;*■ .'1"

ww^.

"i^Slg

^g£Sl

■■,

t^

^1

•4l.

p^-

i^.

P^ ;i.^^

-^.■v«-.^.*

f|'

• .■/■■-■■■■ ./■

.T^ •»,^^fB^(^?'^-'- .

,,-^^„l

B^i^

i

:#--

^; -v

•-■■J^s^^-f ■

,. - -•

k.

''»"gf-'>~^"

^^^^r ^*|f^'.«:

ak^ ■ ■' ■ ":

■ '"''■'.f--^^■

■ -^C^l^' "--''■

.., -■■'■' ',—

-'./..'i -',;.'-

'S"-::->:,;.

. ' ^?5

-^^,

,4^-

■'^■*'

'-■"^1

i

1

•

.M

i

Road from Middletown Springs to Tinmouth

won so many years ago is well maintained. These steamers
carry automobiles, so that a trip on Lake Champlain short-
ens distances and provides a pleasant change for the motor
tourist.

Probably there is not a more charming region in America
than Grand Isle, the island county of Lake Champlain.
The climate is delightful, the lake breezes tempering the
heat of summer. Our common, overworked adjectives
are entirely inadequate to describe this lake country, afford-
ing as it does the broad expanse of an inland sea, stretching
away for more than one hundred miles, with a noble moun-
tain range on either hand. For many years this county
has been famous for its good roads, which have been kept

[ twenty-eight

in excellent condition by surfacing with lake shore gravel.
This county is one of the most famous fruit growing regions
in America, being particularly well adapted to apple growing.
Alburg, the northernmost town of this county is a
part of the Canadian plain which extends to the St. Law-
rence River. A settlement was made here as early as 173 1
by the owner of a French seigniory at a place now known
as Windmill Point, the name being derived from a stone
windmill erected there. Mineral springs in Alburg have
been known and used for more than a century. On the
northwestern shore of Isle La Motte, in 1666, Captain La-
Mothe of the French army erected Fort St. Anne as an ad-
vance post to guard Canada from Iroquois incursions, and
here General Montgomery's army, in 1775, under orders
to invade Canada, awaited the arrival of General Schuyler.

^^B@w^.^^Hh

'h

1

fe.

n

1

'^«

^^^^hHUEI

j?i?f5%5^^^^

i

5^l<

''^""''^^^^^HHB

~- ~ '^^'^^

^^ffl

A Lily Pond in Alburg

Lwenty-nine

Surf on Grand Isle Shore

In the old stone homestead of Hon. Nelson W. Fisk, on this
island, Vice-President Roosevelt received the news of the
shooting of President McKinley at Buffalo in 1901. On
the western shore of North Hero, the British held a block-
house for nearly thirteen years after the close of the Ameri-
can Revolution. A bronze tablet marks the spot. The
upper and lower portions of this island are connected at
"The Carrying Place" by a narrow neck of land. Grand
Isle and South Hero are fertile farming towns and contain
many summer resorts and camps. North Hero and South
Hero were granted to Ethan and Ira Allen and some of their
Revolutionary war associates and were called The Heroes,

[ thirty

in their honor. The drives through these Islands, often
along the lake shore, fringed In some Instances by cedars,
are exceedingly picturesque. From South Hero the main-
land In Milton Is reached by way of the Sandbar Bridge,
nearly two miles long, a stone roadway built on a natural
bar of sand deposited by the waters of the Lamoille River.
One route to Burlington from the Sandbar Bridge follows
the southern shore of Malletts Bay, a beautiful drive bor-
dered with white birches. This Is one of the largest bays
In Lake Champlain and is a popular summer resort.

Opposite Grand Isle, on the western shore of the lake.
Is Plattsburg, the scene of the famous battle of the War of
1812, and the location of the Officers' Training Camps of
recent years.

Taylor Park, St. Albans, at Night

thirty-one

BiRDsiiYE View of Lake Hortobba, Echo Lake and Beebe Pond

I ihirly-two thirty-three ]

Along a Vermont Brook

One of the favorite auto trips from Burlington is through
Grand Isle county, across the lake by ferry from East Al-
burg to West Swanton, and thence south along the main-
land, through St. Albans to the starting point. Just
north of Swanton is Highgate Springs, near the Canadian
border, a well known summer resort beautifully located
on the lake shore, and famous for its mineral springs.
John G. Saxe, a well known poet, was born in this town.
Relics of some very ancient Indian settlements have been
found in Swanton and Highgate. The lake shore drive
from Swanton to St. Albans Bay is delightful. A visitor
who followed this route after a summer shower remarked

[ thirfy-four

that the rays of the setting sun upon the waters were Hke
the reflections from an opal, and again that the lake ap-
peared like the Scriptural "sea of glass mingled with lire".
St. Albans is the headquarters of the Central Vermont
Railway. During the Civil War it was the scene of the St.
Albans Raid, when on October 19, 1864, a band of Confed-
erates from Canada raided the banks, killed one man and
escaped with ^208,000. The views from the St. Albans
hills are superb. There are many camps on the St. Albans
shore. At St. Albans Bay there is a steamboat landing.

1

^■^ly^^^

m

(Mi

tk Afc* "^

UKM^u«f-

^^m: "jm

UliAVlM^S

"'^'IH^

^<^ t

^P," M

■^

^T-^.-' ' V,<vi., .'

-Jl

^)»~^^^^^^^8

k

^^J

BPWil^^^P' •■

WM

E ^-^^^

tT- .^

thirty-five

Waterfall at the Gorge, near Winooski

I. Champlain Memorial Light Tower 2-3. Ruins of Fort Amherst
4-5. Glimpses of Fort Ticonderoga

[ thirty-six

The return trip to Burlington is through the towns of Georgia
Milton and Colchester.

Burlington is the largest city in Vermont and the head-
quarters of navigation on Lake Champlain. Persons who
have travelled widely have said that no city in the world
has a more magnificent location. It is built on a hillside
sloping gently down to Lake Champlain. On the crest of
the hill are the buildings and campus of the University of
Vermont. To the east may be seen the range of the Green
Mountains with two of its highest peaks Mansfield and
Camel's Hump, sharply defined against the horizon. To

A RocKBouND Coast

thirty-seven

MoNKTON Pond

the west is spread out the broad expanse of Lake Cham-
plain, with its bays and headlands and islands, and in the
background the imposing bulk of the Adirondack range,
rising peak upon peak. Overlooking the lake is Battery
Park, where an American army was stationed during the
War of 1 812. North of the city is Ethan Allen Park, a
portion of the farm occupied by the leader of the Green
Mountain Boys at the time of his death. In the park,
on the site of an old Indian lookout, the Sons of the Ameri-
can Revolution have erected the Ethan Allen Tower, a
stone structure of Norman design, from the battlements
of which may be seen Lake Champlain, the Green and
Adirondack Mountains and the beautiful valley of the
Winooski River. South of the city are the grounds of
Edward Hatch with delightful woodland drives, some of

[ thirty-eight

them along the lake shore and open to the public, and Queen
City Park, a popular summer resort.

Ethan Allen's grave in Green Mount Cemetery Is
marked by a tall granite shaft surmounted by a marble
statue. Other points of Interest are the University build-
ings and the homes of George F. Edmunds, Edward J.
Phelps, Gen. O. O. Howard and John G. Saxe, the poet.
This city is often the headquarters for tourists desiring
to visit Mount Mansfield, Camel's Hump, the Islands
of Lake Champlain, Plattsburg or Ausable Chasm, or who
wish to take a steamboat trip on the lake.

Just south of Burlington is the town of Shelburne In
which Is the large estate of Dr. W. Seward Webb, contaln-

Lake Bomoseen

th irty- nine

I. A WiNoosKi River Scene 2. A Glimpse of the Missisquoi
River 3. A View of the Lamoille River

[ forty

ing about 4,000 acres. There are several delightful summer
resorts in the towns of Charlotte and Ferrisburg. The
latter town was the home of the blind author, Rowland E.
Robinson, perhaps the truest delineator of Vermont country
life. At the mouth of Otter Creek, during the War of 181 2,
a small fort was erected, called Fort Cassin, in honor of its
commanding officer, which successfully withstood an attack
from a British fleet sent for the purpose of destroying
Macdonough's ships in process of construction on Otter
Creek, at Vergennes.

On the lake shore in Panton a tablet has been erected
to commemorate the feat of Benedict Arnold, who ran
ashore and burned the remnant of the American fleet
which he commanded in the Battle of Lake Champlain,
in 1776, the first important naval engagement in the Revo-
lutionary War, after an heroic contest with a British squad-
ron much stronger than his own. Chimney Point, in

BiRDSEYE View of Lake Bomoseen

forty -one

Lake St. Catherine

Addison, is a place of much historic interest. When the
French in 173 1 built Fort St. Frederic, later known as
Crown Point, the settlement included a portion of the
Vermont shore. A part of a hotel here is believed to have
been built soon after the first settlement was made in 173 1,
and the "new part" is more than one hundred years old.

Directly across the lake, which is narrow here, stands
the imposing memorial light tower, erected by the States
of Vermont and New York as a memorial to Samuel Cham-
plain. At Hand's Cove, in Shoreham, Ethan Allen assem-
bled his Green Mountain Boys, early in 1775, for his suc-
cessful attack upon the fortress of Ticonderoga, on the
morning of the day on which the Continental Congress
assembled at Philadelphia. This town is the birthplace
of Vice-President Levi P. Morton.

[forty-two

mmmmmsm

mM^mm

Mount Independence, in Orwell, directly opposite
Fort Ticonderoga, constituted an important part of the
defenses of that post during the early part of the American
Revolution. The southern portion of the lake is very
narrow, extending as far south as West Haven. Here
Horace Greeley's parents lived for several years and from
this town the future editor of the New York Tribune went
to the neighboring town of Poultney to learn the printer's
trade.

A Mountain Scene in Rupert

forty-three

Cascade, Drake's Woods, Bristol

[forty-four

"Sing a song, a rich refrain,
And let echo swell the strain,
To our lake, our loved Champlain,
Lovely Lake Champlain."

These words of a popular college song well express
the affection and admiration felt by those who know and
love this noble lake,

Bennington county, and that portion of Windham
which thrusts itself into the former county like a great
notch, contain several small lakes and ponds. Barber
Pond, near the center of Pownal, has an area of lOO acres.
This town, in the southwestern corner of the State, named
in honor of an early Governor of Massachusetts, was settled
in 1724, the same year that the first permanent settlement

Moonlight on Lake Champlain

forty -five

Scene on South Hero Shore

in Vermont was made at Fort Dummer in Brattleboro.
Stamford contains Fish, Morse, Stamford and Sucker
Ponds. Extensive mountain views are afforded from
the peaks in this town, and a feature of interest is found
in the huge boulders deposited there during the ice age.
Readsboro Pond contains about lOO acres. From the
mountain summits of Readsboro a large portion of Western
Massachusetts may be seen.

Woodford is distinctively a mountain town, the cen-
tral portion consisting of a plateau several miles in width.
Big Pond, the principal source of the Walloomsac River,

[ forty-six

contains about lOO acres. There are also several smaller
ponds in this town.

Bennington, on one of the main automobile routes,
ranks among the largest villages in the State; and in this
town and its immediate vicinity was enacted some of the
most important events in the early history of Vermont.
It was the headquarters of the Green Mountain Boys, and
here a lofty battle monument, perhaps the most imposing
in America, commemorates the battle of Bennington, to
the loss of which Burgoyne attributed his subsequent de-
feat at Saratoga. Manchester and Bennington are among
the most popular summer resorts in Vermont.

Lake Shaftsbury, in the town of Shaftsbury, contain-
ing 350 acres, is situated at the foot of Spruce Peak, a
mountain 3,000 feet high.

MissisQuoi Bay, Highgate

forty-seven

^■1

^HHBHpPt^'^^

■

A Quiet Bay and a Pleasant Shore

Glastenbury is a mountain town and from the summits
of its mountains, streams flow north, east, south and west.
Faysville Pond has an area of 200 acres, and Lost Pond
an area of 150 acres. Sunderland contains Bourn, Branch
and Beebe Ponds, all in the eastern part, the last named
being about one mile long and three-fourths of a mile wide.

Chase Pond, in Somerset, a Windham county town,
has an area of 100 acres. The reservoir of a power com-
pany, located in the town, on the headwaters of the Deer-
field River, has an area of 2,000 acres. The great earth
filled dam is nearly half a mile long.

Stratton, in the same county, is a mountain town.
From the summit of Stratton Mountain, 3,800 feet high,
parts of four states may be seen. During the "Tippe-
canoe and Tyler too" campaign of 1840, the Whigs held a

[forty-eight

great political rally on Stratton Mountain and Daniel
Wesbter was the principal orator. There are three ponds
in Stratton, Grant, Jones and Stratton Ponds, each
having an area of about loo acres. Equinox Pond, in
Manchester, near Mount Equinox, is a beautiful little
body of water. Buffum Pond, in the northwestern part of
Peru, is considered a curiosity on account of its elevation.
Emerald Lake, in Dorset, is so named on account of
the deep green color of its waters, caused by the clay which
covers the bed of the lake. The wooded mountains along
its shores are reflected in its waters and the lake and its

Indian Carrying Place, North Hero

forty-nine

Lake Champlain and Adirondacks from^^Burlington

setting are a delight to the eye. The road northwest by
north along the western border of the State, passes through
one of the distinctive groups of Vermont lakes, located in
Rutland county.

The first of the group of lakes to be reached as one
journeys north is Lake St. Catherine, a narrow body of
water, five or six miles in length, about one mile wide and
situated in the towns of Wells and Poultney. The road
follows the east shore, is pleasantly shaded, and passes
under the shadow of a high cliff. The lake has stretches
of sandy beach and a pine grove adds to the attractiveness
of the place. It is a beautiful lake and has long been a
popular summer resort. The derricks of the slate quar-
ries, silhouetted against the sky, form a picturesque and
an interesting feature of the region. Vermont ranks
second only to Pennsylvania in the production of slate
and most of its output comes from a few towns in the

western part of Rutland county, many of them contain-
ing Welsh colonies with Welsh churches and singing socie-
ties, the people being attracted by the slate industry.

A few miles north, situated in a rocky basin, in the
towns of Castleton and Hubbardton, is Lake Bomoseen,
the largest lake situated wholly within Vermont, Mem-

1'

J0,

^L jC!^3

X

^^^Ml»

F^^o

■IL

r "sli^*^-;i^^t ; -

'm-

i3.4J.i5ap««*ft - ■' > '

■

Ethan Allen Monument, Burlington

fifty-one

White Birches on Lake Champlain Headland

[ fifty-two

phremagog being partly in Canada and Champlain partly
in New York and partly in Canada. Lake Bomoseen is
about eight miles long and two and one-half miles wide,
and near the center is an island having an area of ten acres.
Part of the shore is fringed with cedars and the western
shore is overhung by cliffs. Surrounded by hills and
mountains, the lake is very attractive and is a popular
summer resort. There are twelve ponds in the town of
Hubbardton. This town is famous as the scene of a battle
during the American Revolution, when Col. Seth Warner,
commanding the rear guard of General St. Clair's army

Lake Dunmore and Moosalamoo Mountaii

fifty-three

MiLLPOND IN Town of Georgia

retreating from Ticonderoga, was attacked and defeated
by British and German troops.

A little way north of Lake Bomoseen is Lake Hortonia,
mostly in the town of Sudbury, but extending into Hub-
bardton. This lake, about three miles long and one mile
wide, is fed by mountain springs. The wooded shores,
interspersed with green meadows and cultivated fields,
the small islands and the surrounding hills, make a beautiful
picture. The view from the hills toward Brandon is par-
ticularly fine. Brandon is a typical New England village
with beautifully shaded streets, and famous as the birth-
place of Abraham Lincoln's great opponent, Stephen A.
Douglas. Thomas Davenport, the inventor of the electric
motor also lived in this town, and a bronze tablet has been

[ fifty-Jour

erected to his memory at Forestdale by the Allied Electrical
Associations of America.

A few miles north of Brandon, lying partly in Salisbury
and partly in Leicester, is Lake Dunmore, one of the most
beautiful of the New England lakes. It is about four miles
long and nearly one mile wide. Many of the scenes in
"The Green Mountain Boys" are laid around Lake Dun-
more. Behind the lake, on the eastern shore, rises the
great rampart of Mount Moosalamoo, 2,659 f^^t in height.
The shore is irregular, in some places bordered with white
birches, and a good road enables the tourist to drive entirely
around the lake. Above, and east of Lake Dunmore is
Silver Lake, with an area of 160 acres, a small body of
water which finds its outlet in Dunmore by means of a

Lake Carmi, Franklin, near Canadian Border

fifty-five

series of cascades. Its name is derived from the silvery
sand which covers the bottom of the lake. A climb to
the heights above Lake Dunmore affords a wonderful
view, including the nearer lakes, a panorama of farms
and villages and in the distance Lake Champlain and
the peaks of the Adirondacks. Northeast of Vergennes is
MoNKTON Pond, in the town of Monkton, a small but
pretty sheet of water, two-thirds by three-fourths of a
mile in size, part of the shore line being wooded. The
fishing is said to be good in the pond. There appears to
be good opportunities here for camps in a region as yet
largely undeveloped as a summer resort.

Dunham's Pond or Pleiad Lake, in the western part
of Hancock, having an area of 150 acres, has an altitude of
2,000 feet, and is fed by springs. Mount Vernon Pond,
a half mile in diameter, is reached by steps cut in the rocks.
Dutton's Pond in Goshen, has an area of seventy-five
acres. Little Pond in Leicester, has an area of 300
acres. There are several small lakes and ponds in Orwell,
including Sunset Lake, Choate, Johnson, Spruce, Smith's
Little and Lily Ponds, the last named being noted for
its water lilies.

Hinesburg Pond or Lake Iroquois, situated in the
towns of Hinesburg and Williston, is an attractive body
of water, about three-fourths of a mile long and half a mile
wide. Several camps are located on its shores. Bolton
contains Wahlen Pond and Howrigan Pond, the former
having an area of 100 acres. Shelburne Pond is in the
northwestern part of Shelburne. Colchester Pond,
in the eastern part of the town bearing the same name, is
about three-fourths of a mile long by half a mile wide.
Long Pond, in Milton, is about one mile long and half
a mile wide. Round Pond, in the same town, is a little

[ fifty-six

smaller than Long Pond. Gillett Pond In Richmond,
in one mile long and half a mile wide.

Fairfield Pond, in the town of Fairfield, about three
miles long and one and one-half mile wide, furnishes the
village of Swanton with its water supply. President
Chester A. Arthur was born in this town. Fairfax Pond,
in Fairfax, is the source of the water supply of St. Albans.
Half Moon Pond, in Fletcher is a crescent shaped body
of water, half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide.
Bakersiield contain Trout, Tupper, Brown and Daggett
Ponds. Burleson Pond is in the western part of Berk-
shire.

Franklin Pond or Lake Carmi, near the center of
the town of Franklin, is two and one-half miles long and
one mile wide. This lake is a popular resort and is famous
for its good fishing. It is only a little way from the Cana-
dian border and is situated in a picturesque region of hills
and valleys, in what was once a hunting region of the St.
Francis Indians.

Near Morrisville is Lake Lamoille, formed by a
dam which sets back the waters of the Lamoille River.
This charming little lake has a shore line of about five
miles and is becoming a popular summer resort.

Nearly all the lakes and ponds of Western Vermont
are frequented by fishermen and many of them have been
stocked from the State hatcheries. All of them are at-
tractive and most of them are easily reached. Practi-
cally all the lakes and ponds mentioned may be reached
by rail by the Central Vermont and Rutland roads, a
drive of a few miles taking the visitor to his destination.
The Rutland Railroad, entering Vermont at Bennington,
runs northwest through the western part of the State
along the Champlain valley to Burlington, then, crossing

fifty-seven ]

to Grand Isle, the island county of Lake Champlain, tra-
verses that county. The Central Vermont railway fol-
lowing the Connecticut, White and Winooski River valleys,
reaches Lake Champlain at Burlington and follows the
Champlain valley northward to the Canadian border and
beyond. The Delaware & Hudson railroad follows the
western shore of Lake Champlain. This lake is reached
by many automobile thoroughfares, from the White Moun-
tains, the seacoast, the Berkshires, Lake George, the Adi-
rondacks, and Montreal. In Vermont most of these routes
lead through Rutland, Burlington or St. Albans.

One of the automobile routes from Bennington and
Manchester to Burlington passes Emerald Lake in Dorset,
Lake St. Catherine, Lake Bomoseen and Lake Hortonia.
Lake Dunmore is reached by following the main highway
north from Rutland, through Brandon to Salisbury, where
a slight detour is made to the lake, thence northward to
the main road to Burlington. Monkton Pond is reached
by a road leading in a northeasterly direction from Ver-
gennes. Chittenden County ponds may be approached
by roads radiating from Burlington. Franklin Pond or
Lake Carmi, is on a road leading from Swanton to Rich-
ford. Other Franklin county ponds may be reached by
roads radiating from St. Albans. Lake Lamoille is reached
by the White Mountain route to Burlington by way of St.
Johnsbury. Routes will be described and more definite
information given upon application to the Publicity Bureau,
Secretary of State's Office, Morrisville, Vt.

[fifty-eight

(Printed by permission of Charles Scribners' Sons, New York.)

From the prison of anxious thought that greed has builded,
From the fetters that envy has wrought and pride has gilded,
From the noise of the crowded ways and the fierce confusion,
From the folly that wastes its days in a world of illusion,
(Ah, but the life is lost that frets and languishes there!)
I would escape and be free in the joy of the open air.

By the breadth of the blue that shines in silence o'er me,
By the length of the mountain-lines that stretch before me,
By the height of the cloud that sails, with rest in motion,
Over the plains and the vales to the measureless ocean,
(Oh, how the sight of the things that are great enlarges the

eyes !)
Lead me out of the narrow life, to the peace of the hills

and the skies.

While the tremulous leafy haze on the woodland is spreading.
And the bloom on the meadow betrays where May has been

treading;
While the birds on the branches above, and the brooks

flowing under.
Are singing together of love in a world full of wonder,

fijty-nine ]

(Lo, in the marvel of Springtime, dreams are changed into

truth !)
Quicken my heart, and restore the beautiful hopes of

youth.

By the faith that the flowers show when they bloom unbid-
den.
By the calm of the river's flow to a goal that is hidden,
By the trust of the tree that clings to its deep foundation.
By the courage of wild birds' wings on the long migration,
(Wonderful secret of peace that abides in Nature's breast!)
Teach me how to confide, and live my life, and rest.

For the comforting warmth of the sun that my body em-
braces,

For the cool of the waters that run through the shadowy
places.

For the balm of the breezes that brush my face with their
lingers.

For the vesper-hymn of the thrush when the twilight
lingers.

For the long breath, the deep breath, the breath of a heart
without care —

I will give thanks and adore thee, God of the open air!

Slope capping slope the awakening east along,
Vermont's broad ranges show their emerald dye:

And still, their meadows opulent with song
And glad with grain, the Hero Islands lie.

Across the water, as it breaks or broods.
In twilight purple, or in dawning gold.

Majestic from their airy altitudes

Mansfield and Whiteface signal as of old.

sixty

Grandeur and beauty! — here the twain combine,
Clothing the landscape with a varied veil;

And while before our eyes their splendors shine
Let the grave Muse of History breathe her tale!

— CImion ScoUard.

Battles whose blood is liberty,
Heroes whose dreams are history,
Imagination hath them wrought.
Tempering all things to a thought.
Painting the land, the lake, the sky.
With pageants of the dreamer's eye.

So by my visionary shore.

Soldier and saint and sagamore

Live in my shadow evermore;

Where, lapt in beauty sleeps Champlain,

Lulled are the passion and the pain;

The legend and the race rem.ain.

Percy Mackaye.

sixty-one

University of
Connecticut

Libraries

39153029586031

rTr"

l«i *:••

wr

k

% M.

€ i; ■ I « -«

4:-si -'S^T, #i«. f:nf :.|v